Victorian ( and not only) Realities : how did they deal with the summer heat?
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2016
- Come summer, at the events the most frequent question is about the heat. not even in summer - almost any Victorian or other historical picture i post on fb or instsgram, ( or a video here..)there is always someone remarking on how hot it must be i the summer in all these layers.
Well, here's my answer! - Навчання та стиль
There's also the fact that these clothes were airy at the bottom (especially because of the open drawers and skirts) unlike the tight sticky leggings and jeans we wear. No matter how 'micro' shorts can get,they won't help as much.
And light colors, which reflects light.
@@animequeen78 Light colors like a baby blue is breathable.
Since we're on this topic. For women, it's warmer around the woo-ha. Shorts can definitely become uncomfortable. Shirts? Not really.
Jeans are a hell. I don't understand why people wear them. They're uncomfortable, and you can barely stretch in them.
Leggings are different. Different fabric, thickness and length.
Micro shorts are just uncomfortable, thighs really don't like them.
@@harrowingseer I hate jeans with a passion. I can just about deal with baggy jeans when necessary, but I'd rather go naked than wear skinny or close fitting jeans, especially in summer.
@@lunaangeleclipse9745 I have a really soft pair of jeans, but there like the most lavender color ever.
You're also shaded by parasols and can carry fans. Both my Victorian (born 1881) and Edwardian (born 1905) grandmothers carried parasols (which my one grandfather called a "bumpershoot"), fans, and wore hats that required hatpins until the end of their lives (late 1970s). They'd insist that no lady went out without those items, and no lady went out without wearing gloves, either. I still have the reticule owned by my Victorian grandmother's mother.
By the way, I live in the Mojave Desert of the American Southwest. We get summer temperatures in Themal, CA of 120 degrees or so. No humidity? No, but it's still freaking HOT.
Did they have nice hands from being covered all the time?
@@onemercilessming1342 Oof I live in the Midwest and I thought 90° was bad... (Mostly because I was made to go outside by Summer camp idiots)
@@hechetonchieres Idk, if u see me with covered hands, then it's because they look like death and I'm embarrassed 😂
I carry a hand fan in summer. It's always nice after being in the heat to fan oneself off.
This is what I've had to explain to my mom, over and over, when she says "but you can buy this fabric that LOOKS just like linen for $4 a yard!"
Linen loiks are usually polyester or rayon and cotton blends. They trap body heat. Better to spend the $20.00 a yard on the real thing. Find a coupon if you can. Be sure to wash it first before you work with it. You will be ironing it, but that is nature of the beast.
Nope! Linen look alikes are essentially fancy plastic 🤦 save every last bit of money you can! And I suggest getting some great deals @fabrics-store.com .
Everytime I wear anything other than 💯 linen or cotton I cook especially when it's over 80F !
@@julierauthshaw8556 why iron when you can steam it?
@@ah5721 sometimes just steaming gives a sort of bubbly appearance; not flat.
Linen is what we made our clothes out of 3,000 years ago
As someone who wears skirts year round I get the same question in winter AND summer. They think all the fabric keeps me hot in summer but is too flowy and cold for winter? It makes no sense. 😄 Also being covered means less sunburn!
I know right? Sunburn is no joke and unfortunately I am allergic to chemical suncreen so light covering clothes and hats are a must have. The only brand of sunscreen I'm not allergic to exspensive and eequires a perscription to get, so hello sun hats and veils.
In fairness, when the frigid winter wind blows your skirt around, it does bite at your legs quite a bit. Obviously, though, the solution is to wear heavier skirts in the winter, and lighter ones in the summer. It's not like it's that complicated.
people have just been conditioned to think traditional clothing is bad
pffshh screw wearing a tank top and burning everytime I step into the sun (very pale and I don't tan ever I've tried and failed many a time) I'm just gonna start wearing victorian summer dresses everywhere yes please
go for it!! its FUN and lovely
I’m extremely pale as well, and I have a condition that makes being in the sun difficult because of issues with regulating my body temperature, the sun actually making me sick pretty quickly, sunburn, and light sensitivity, so summer is kind of my enemy. And I live in the Southern US, Tennessee. I’m mostly sort of... captive in my apartment, but I have to go to doctor’s appointments. So this year I started wearing skirts, and they actually are pretty bearable! I’ve never been fond of white, but I’ve finally just surrendered and decided I’ll do what I have to in order to survive, lol! The combo has made a marked improvement on the days I’ve been forced to go out. I’m going to try to get my hands on something even lighter that’s 100% natural fibers for next year.
that yellow dress is simply beautiful!
I thought so too
It looks like Jane's dress from Tarzan!!
I thought of Belle from Beauty and the Beast
Cindy Kitty agreed
Amen! I wish I could afford clothes like these
The fabric actually shields the skin from the sun, which is one of the things that helps keep you cool.
What many people don't realize is that there are a lot of hot areas in the world where people wear clothing that covers there skin--it's all lightweight and typically light colored. I have some loose, lightweight, longsleeved cotton tops that are actually really comfortable to wear year round, even when it's really hot. I'm sensitive to heat from the sun and I find I stay feeling more comfortable with more of my skin covered and protected from the sun
I can vouch for this. I used to be an American Civil War reenactor, portraying a Sanitary Commission nurse. The layers actually keep the sun off your skin and regulate your core temperature, as said here. I never felt unbearably hot. While I didn't use a parasol I did wear a slat bonnet, which keeps the sun off your head and shoulders completely.
Many years ago when visiting a historic battlefield in Pennsylvania, my mother asked the staff dressed in woolen historical attire the same thing and they said something similar about natural fibers being much more breathable. I love wearing natural fibers. I very rarely by anything else.
haha "the desert folk cover up for a reason" i'm glad you mentioned that! As a girl who wears hijab and long clothing i'm always asked if i'm "hot in that" and the answer is always meh not really.
Yes indeed. One of the great advantages of a Gulf Abaya is that we can wear Victorian and other historical fashion dresses and underlayers underneath at any time of the year - and I do! :D
Where do you get your clothes? I love being modest and wear light weight clothes especially skirts but sadly western styles are usually poorly made and the weight is to heavy for climates of 85-95F and 60% humidity...
I assumed a hijab would be hot because they are usually black fabric not light colours, and the darker the colour the more heat it absorbs (hence why natural light colour linen is worn by explorers).
Does wearing a lighter colour keep you cooler, or is a black hijab the requirement?
@@elenalizabeth a black hijab (let’s call it veil from here on out, because its basic function is the same as the western woman’s back then, like in the medieval dressing videos) is worn most of the time because it’s a versatile colour that can go with so many, if not all, colour combos. So no, the black veil is not a requirement. & yes the theory of darker colours absorb more heat applies here too. However, there are veils that are made of lightweight & breathable material, so there’s a variety of choices for those who don a veil.
@@merryoldgrinkh9020 makes sense to be able to match everything, I suppose white matches everything too but would look too bridal-like 🤔
I once spoke with nuns about their outfits and they said they wished the black and white parts are reversed to help make it cooler in summer, though most of them wear a blue and white linen outfit instead during the summer as it is thinner.
I'd live to wear all those dresses. ever since I was little I dreamed of having all that crinoline.
Then do it :)
You can order the corset and stocking... ( if you have enough money ) and maybe make the rest??
Wait 3 years
I wish these clothes would come back into fashion
We can wear what we want, darling, plus at least the decorative sleeves are coming back in the shape of mutton-leg, bishop sleeve, bell sleeve and so on. I noticed, fancy attire comes back every 100 years, like in 1750s, 1850s, 1950s.
Fortunately, we can wear whatever we want these days. You really could dress like this if you want. The Steam punks do.
nah I like my strechy jeans and my t shirts.....I can barely stand bras, I cant imagine puting up with a corset all day long
I'd love to dress like this for an event tho. It looks so much fun!
haruno21 same... I hate bras. I wear them for 2 days a month xD no one noticed before
you could, but you'll be stared at
I'm sure for those in the 19th century/before modern day, just being more used to it was a factor too. No a/c and central heating meant "It's summer, so it's hot" and "it's winter, so it's cold" and you actually got used to temperature changes, compared to "spend 12 hours in 20C air conditioning and then feel like dying of heat after ten minutes in 35C weather" (I never liked air conditioning at home... I feel so much better on all but the hottest days having gotten rid of it. Just some fans and a bit of window-fu to block out extra sun and catch the breeze works wonders. Though it's not like you need it all that much in most of Canada :P). Also, a lot of houses in hotter climates were designed back then with airflow or shade in mind. They're often quite comfortable without anything but open windows. You could get the cellars in traditional Persian houses so cold that you could store ice in the summer, using just the earth and a wind-tower.
...I wanted to also add, I learned another stay-cool trick from some hoopskirt-wearing costumers that I didn't see here- rocking the skirt/hoops a bit usually generates a nice bit of airflow around your lower half! Maybe it was just considered too risque to do in the Victorian era? :P
True about the airflow. I once toured a house built in the mid 1800s. The doors, stairs, rooms and windows were designed so air comes in the 1st floor circulates up the stairs and out of the attic windows. Houses took advantage of the fact that heat rises. Indoors you could tell it was a warm day but it wasn't uncomfortably hot. And this was a super hot humid June North Carolina day. The only uncomfortable place was the room in the attic were the heat collected.
Likewise, my Mom's done major renovations to her turn-of-the-20th-C countryside house, and she doesn't even NEED fans in the summer any more. Good wall insulation (now, to be fair, when she started, the walls were insulated with DIRT and ROCKS in the oldest part of the house....) and shade trees along with leaving blinds down during midday to keep the sun out makes it cool as a cave on all but the hottest days, and she also ripped out the baseboard heating and uses a high-quality woodstove which heats nearly all the house in winter so warm I can wear shorts in February (it's also not a big house, so one stove gets the heat into all but the bathroom, since its door faces at too sharp an angle to get much of the heat into it, and the one upstairs room). And, she's planning to build an outdoor summer kitchen for using in hot weather, like they had in the old days to keep the house cooler (my own grandma also grew up with one. She said her favourite memory of it was in the winter when they'd milk the cow, they'd skim off some cream, hide it in the summer kitchen and let it freeze to eat as a treat!). And now, when my Mom was a kid herself, she also has many memories of another mostly-forgotten method of dealing with heat in the summer- sleeping at her grandma's (my great grandma) on the sleeping porch at her house. Basically take an outdoor porch with a rooftop, cover it in screening to keep out bugs and animals, and you'd sleep out there on hot nights to be more comfortable. It also wasn't uncommon in the early 20th century to sleep on the roof or in a park or the like in cities during heat waves.
I do live in a victorian cottage - built in 1852. it is a stone building and is amazing in summer! outside furnace, inside it is cold. to such a degree that I am wearing long pants and warm socks inside - and need to shed layers to go outside. it takes a good month of very high temperatures for the cottage to actually start feel a bit warmer inside ( and being England, a month of temperatures over 30 doesnt happen much) . the warmest room is the dining area where skylight have been recenty added .in winter the stone keeps the heat in.
Good points. The house we live in (built in 1949, pre-air conditioning) had two bedrooms and a bath put into the attic. Our top floor is intolerable during the day for 3 months of the year.
I visited old one-story bungalows in Hawai'i where the top 12" of the interior walls were open between rooms to allow airflow. Those bungalows also had fantastic deep overhanging eaves which shaded the windows from the sun. Of course, the summer weather in Hawai'i is dramatically less hot than in the North American Midwest or the Eastern Seaboard States.
I live in a 1916 farmhouse, no central A/C. When it hits about 90F outside, I close all of the lower level windows, pull the heavy curtains closed and open the cellar up...open the cellar bulkhead (to outside) door and the kitchen door into the cellar and let all of the 50F cellar air come up into the house. It smells a little damp, but it cools the ground floor quite nicely. Because I'm acclimated to no A/C, I find it uncomfortable when I do run into it.
I recently found your channel and cannot stop watching! My grandmother made Barbie doll clothes for me and most were Victorian or Edwardian. Playing dress up with them was a big part of childhood and your videos are a great source if nostalgia. Your talent us obvious and your dresses most beautiful. A pleasure.
I played with paper dolls with the dresses of these periods. (and I'm not really that old, 49) lol
I am a goth who favours more elaborate fashion a lot of the time, I get this question a lot too. I pretty much give the explanation that it comes down to fabric choice
One's choice of fibers is often overlooked. It makes a world of difference!
I worked an Elizabethan faire for 20+ years Never went down because of the heat even once. As long as you keep the top of your head cool, and your under arms breathing,( HYDRATE!), you can be wearing a woman's Great Kilt (Think Sari in wool.) and be comfortable in 105F. I also have a sun allergy so I have to stay covered winter and summer, and you learn that your body will adapt. Those were some of the best days of my life.
As someone who dresses in many skirts and a petticoat in a Victorian fashion almost every day, I get this question a lot. I live in Minnesota, where our summers and winters are very extreme; I am always comfortable in my outfits, unless I am sick or some other internal problem is happening. Part of it is that I am naturally kinda cold all the time, another part is the things you mentioned in the video, and also the fact that I always wear leggings or tights, and they keep my legs cool; the rights soak up any sweat, and keep my legs from chafing. Also I love this video series of yours, I just found them; thanks for making them, they are very informative, and will help me improve my outfits ^^.
You wear this stuff everyday? Amazing. Wish more people would.
A Goth Named Wednessday thats easy to say when you live in a place where your average year-round temp is 51.5 F. Here in Texas, just our average temp is 79.5 F.
Iceechibi did you not watch the video? You can wear Victorian fashion in the heat because it has ways of keeping you cool I keep seeing you on all these videos shut up we know you live in Texas so shut up and stop complaining
Solution? Don't live in Texas. : )
Seriously though, it's worth noting that there is an almost 30 degree difference in average temps. Throw in coastal humidity and it's a totally different situation. AC makes it all worse, because we aren't acclimated to the gradual temperature changes. But all the people I've seen who live in this sort of style or work in it frequently are largely not living in sub-tropical climates. It's not just about choosing the right fabric - as was mentioned in other video comments, warmer climates wore clothing more suitable to their climates. Great in England, less so in the American southeast.
And there are different corset styles for hotter weather-- mesh paneled or skeleton corsets. :)
Skeleton is a sad mummy
The dresses are absolutely stunning, history is my favorite subject and seeing all these dresses like this is amazing♡
I am highly sensitive to temperature and humidity, and I live in central Illinois. I've been watching a lot of these videos and watch Abby Cox's channel. She and her friends did an experiment in 2020 where they dressed in Victorian clothing (petticoats, corsets, dresses; the whole nine yards) from 3 different decades and stood out in the sun for at least an hour in northern Nevada, IN THE DESERT, when it was 90 degrees Fahrenheit, then talked about how they felt, whether they felt sweaty and even used a thermal scanner to read their temperature. There was a big difference between the surface temp of their dresses and their bodies underneath. They even repeated the experiment the next day in almost the same conditions wearing modern clothing and they felt a LOT worse.
These videos have inspired me not only to maybe try historical clothing in the future, but definitely to start getting at least summer clothes in more natural fibers, especially to try linen and wool. If I can't find ones I like, I might just try making my own. Also, I've lost weight recently so this could be a fun project.
Where's that place.... I would loveeeeeeeeeeee to "live" in that era for a few hours...
They're in an English country estate, the lady in black is supposed to be Queen Victoria, she reigned Great Britain from 1837-1901.
elmo007millie Thank you!!!!
it looked like the lovely city of Bath. well worth a visit in its own right.
I say live in it everyday. find or make some clothes and live that life
I recognised Bath (for the beige buildings) and Brighton (the little structured overlooking the sea, I call it the blue house)
whoa that lady looks so much like the queen! :O
yeah, she does :)
soccer69heit agreed
Maybe is an unknown descendant. Her son Bertie was known for flirt with everything that moved on a skirt. Wouldn't be surprised if there's some unofficial descendants out there.
@@palomaalcalde7918 oh you rogue!
Paloma alcalde Even without kids on the side, their tree was so expansive that by now, with all the offshoots, my goodness, it’s not a longshot at all! Reading about various monarchs and families, I’ve never gotten as confused as with her family just because of how many there were, and with similar names, in such a short amount of time, marrying and sort of exchanging titles on through the generations. She really nested the entire continent, didn’t she?
And this is why I absolutely refuse to wear synthetic bullshit. Nothing beats some light cotton.
Agreed! Also, I have EXTREMELY sensitive skin and my bestie is all I have to find you better stuff than that to wear! I keep telling her, I don't give two bloody fucks how cutely patterned and designed that fake shit is but if you get me into it it will make my skin far worse than this all natural brilliance I am in now and and feel like it's on fire ESPECIALLY in this heat! So, don't you dare do it because if you ruin my skin girl I shall end you and I say that in the kindest way!
but have you seen that the designer do not get this...
In hot countries we have so much man made crap it is just not funny.
They keep telling us that they are only meeting the wants of the people.
but it is funny how we can only buy what is sold. If we want to cover up and able to do things then we have not much say in the matter.
But customers keep saying and we keep saying to head office - stop man made and bring on cottons and the like.
And that's why I have orders of linen and cotton tunics to make every single summer for customers! I have a sewing business of my own and a HUGE amount of people order loose linen or cotton shirts (think mostly pirate style, or medieval tunics, things that won't look out of place at Renfests. Many of my customers for them are faire-goers or folk musicians who do outdoor festivals) to both have something really comfy for hot outdoor weather but not look like yet another sloppy t-shirt. Likewise, I've been cosplaying for a decade and I quickly learned that natural underlayers are a godsend when you're wearing leathers, armours or anything else heavy on top. Even though I'll still sweat, it absorbs a lot more than synthetics. And where that won't work, I buy performance spandex that wicks sweat. Expensive but WORTH IT. Also, hand fans in the summer, all the time. I get all kinds of weird looks walking around in the summer with one under my chin (followed by many "I can't BELIEVE I never thought of doing that!), but oh look, I'M not the one dripping with sweat!
Alison, some blends are not as bad as alternative if there is no 100% pure natural fabric. Also, viscose is a product of cotton, least favorite of natural fibers of mine but at least accessible.
Viscose is actually a product of highly processed tree fiber, so it's sort of an in-between of synthetic and organic fabric. There's no cotton to speak of in it. Rayon and viscose are made similarly, from an extremely complicated process of using tree cellulose to make cloth. They have marginally more breathability than pure synthetic fabric, but they're really very unpleasant compared to real cotton (or wool, or silk, or linen). They're terrible to sew with too- whenever I have to work with viscose or rayon it frays like a beast, wrinkles if I squint at it and doesn't feel very pleasant at all. Also because cotton prices have gone up, sweatshop clothing brands have started blending their "100% cotton" with rayon to keep things cheaper. The difference is very much felt on a hot day.
Could you do a subject on children's clothes as well? I'm always interested in learning new things about the Victorian era. Maybe, also, when women became a lot more exposed in their attire....?
Your videos are FANTASTIC!!! I love that you show that these things were just as sensible (if not more so) as our modern attire. And I love that you emphasize here that its the MATERIAL that matters, not just the look...
As a Californian, you could be nude and you'd be "dying in the 40C" heat we sometimes have! (Of course, the sun exposure would be awful for your skin but just saying!) Sometimes, like stated, light natural fabrics (especially dresses or skirts that swish and give a baby breeze, and shade are best!
Take it from an Aussie who grew up with heat: Dry heat is fine for me up to about 40 degrees (eg Perth Australia in January). As you say, especially if you stay out of the sun. But more clothes DOES make you hotter at such temperatures.
Humid heat is horrible at anything above about 27 degrees. Staying out of the sun doesn't help. Wearing fewer clothes DOES help. Imagkne wearing corsets and petty coats etc in such conditions? Horrible!
Try going to HK in mid summer and even if you stay in the shade, the humidity will just about kill you. Put on more clothes, even natural fabrics, and it is much worse. Air con is the only way to go in such conditions.
YES - humidity is killer. The issue caused by humidity is that it doesn't allow your body cool itself efficiently, because the sweat doesn't evaporate at a fast enough rate. Layers trap and make that worse. I tried to explain that to someone who swore cotton was THE saviour in summer attire before realizing they'd never lived in humidity like we have here (where the air is so thick with moisture you can breathe it at times). I'd take 105 in dry heat over 90 in humidity any time.
And that is why I'm scramming for southern California as soon as I'm on my own. Nice and warm year-round, no snow (I currently live in New England), and none of this humidity. (No mosquitoes either!)
Rosie Johnson Well keep in mind, coming from someone who has grown up in California all my life, SoCal is especially crowded and ergo can be pretty darn expensive to live in. I always get a kick out of people who come from New England and don’t really understand this until they experience the everyday reality of it. I suppose because the both of us imagine where they’re from to be pretty darn crowded yet we still beat you in our ridiculous traffic, and in some ways expenses (for example, we have the most expensive gas prices in the country).
Funny enough my parents absolutely love Australia and have dreamed for years and years of getting out of this state and moving there (though they’ve been on and off about several places, but if they end up there they can leave me behind, thank you very much. I’m fine with just the quick tour).
And dry heat can get unimaginably terrible, mind you. As someone with sensitive skin, it’s given me pretty _severe_ eczema and an endless array of other problems.
I understand, in many ways, we have it quite good over here compared to many other places, but my point is no living environment is a perfect dream boat. Each place comes with pros and cons that should be considered.
And a lot of people I know, including myself, have wanted to get the heck out of here. I could make a list of reasons as to why, like pointing out it’s glaring cons of traffic and population, expense, and whatever else, but I don’t think I could really fully express the sentiment of why in this manner.
Btw we do have quite the mosquitoes, mind you. Though they’re much worse in SoCal since the area often gets these horrendous ones that come out of Mexico or more tropical areas farther south. You know, the kind that carry horrible and potentially lethal diseases and what not.
If you’d like to live here and love it then by all means I won’t stop you, it’s a wonderful thing to find a place you enjoy to live in, but I just think there must be some things worth considering if so many people I know would rather be somewhere else. Though maybe it’s just because people in general would always rather be somewhere else in a land of perpetual vacation.
Living in Japan, I can also confirm that. Though I honestly need to wear thin stockings in mid-summer, because otherwise sweat will run down my legs *urgs
Juel Briggs I have really thick hear and when it’s hot outside I cannot put my hair up it’s feels If though I have nits and I’m just clawing at my scalp and the humidity does not help either
I wear lots of layers of black, and I never really get hot because I’m always wearing think, airy fabric. Plus I live in Alaska and it doesn’t get to 80 often
86 Fahrenheit = 30 Celsius, 86 feels amazing especially compared to the 102 we had here in Texas the other day! Anyway beautiful dresses as always.
Oh ew, 40 degree heat. (Celcius mind you) I feel for you.
well, nowadays we're having 45 Celsius in Delhi and we have to go to school 😭
exactly........ in some places you absoltely CANT wear this.
haruno21 exactly my thought! I keep wondering how on earth could women in imperial Brazil dress like that... Even with the light fabrics. It's always over 35 degrees celsius in summer and fall, spring aren't exactly cold
Rebekah Wilson Thanks for doing the conversion! Yes, 86 doesn't sound bad at all...if it's any day June-August and the temps are under 90 here in FL, I consider that a win. Over 100, it is definitely cooler to have long clothes on. They protect from the sun AND the hot air.
Edit: and over 110, the best thing is long clothes and periodically dousing them with water. Works great for working, hiking, and motorcycle riding in the heat. Going out in society, not so much, haha.
Did you know that clothing industry rivals the oil industry in polluting our planet? Especially those harmful synthetic fabrics that aren't breathable. I prefer minimalist wardrobe but from good quality and material clothing. And those don't cost more than cheap synthetic fast fashion clothing in total as good clothing serves much longer and looks much better. Cheap clothing look like rags still on hangers in the shops, do you imagine how they look after just 1st wash?
The myth of "unbearable heat" probably comes from the combination of a badly aired indoor room combined with far too many people crammed into it for dancing. Or even a night at the theatre ...
That's why social seasons tended not to run in the summer (and for parties/events that were hosted then, they were often garden parties that took place outdoors), and until a/c became available, people didn't go to the movies and theater in the summertime as it was too hot.
Muck006 and SoundShinobiYuki In the US air conditioning arrived early in theaters and movie theaters, starting in 1925 in the Rivoli Theater in Times Square, NY. By the time talkies came along in 1932, people were used to air conditioning at the movies. That was undoubtedly a big reason people loved to go to the flicks. They probably would have paid the same amount merely to sit in a darkened, cool room in the summer, but sitting with entertainment made it heaven. (The ac also helped keep the highly flammable film cooler.)
Willis Carrier in 1902 came up with a way to moderate humidity and temp for a printing plant. It was a gift from above for large dept stores in the Great Depression, luring in customers. Summer productivity soared. People didn't have to move as little as possible to survive the afternoon heat anymore. There was a solution beyond keeping your socks in the ice box or toughing it out on the sleeping porch. Interestingly, it was a time when women wore very little although men still carried layers of cloth on their bodies and had tight collars.
I knew a man born in the summer of 1916 in Glendale, AZ. He almost died his first day because it was too hot for the tiny baby to breathe. They put him in a basin of cool water and saved his life. Yes, it genuinely COULD be unbearably hot. Hyperthermia. Their core temperature gets past a certain point, they have trouble breathing, their heart is carrying an extra burden, and stops. Certainly it didn't help if one were corseted in tightly so the organs were always constricted. But Gilded Age, WWI, or Roaring Twenties, it is no myth. Heat can and does kill!
If you think unbearable heat is a myth, then you've clearly never dealt with high humidity and/or temperatures over 80F. There's a point where clothing and ventilation stop making a difference.
Very useful. I live in Mexico where the heat can be brutal, but traditional clothing is quite comfy in the hot months. It also rains a lot, so things like a Sombrero keep you dry during the rain and coverered from the heat as well.
I LOVE your videos!! So nice to learn about life through history through the clothing worn!
Beautiful clothing & so impressed with seeing all of you dressed!
that has always been a curiosity to me. I especially get curious how people here in Texas dealt with the heat back then. thanks.
She's talking about 25 degree Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) weather and to the English is kind of hot but what about 100+ degree Fahrenheit or 38 degree Celsius weather? And yes, I also live in Texas and I wonder how those women didn't die of dehydration?
I think that old people, the very young, and the sick probably DID die of the heat in Texas. (I don't think it happened all that often in Britain, however.) I spent just one summer in Texas, when I was 19 years old, and the heat was brutal despite my youth and good health. I stayed in the shade in the middle of the day.
"Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun."
When I did reenactments in my preteens and early teens, it was actually pretty nice! Full pioneer/early settler garb (bloomers, privacy petticoat, under petticoat, camisole, long stockings, ankle boots, full skirt, blouse, apron, bonnet, all cotton) in 100+ heat with 70-80% humidity in late July and early August in Texas, where I have lived all my life. I found that it was actually more comfortable than jeans and a t-shirts! And for the winter months, the only change was a heavy cotton fleece cloak, but I even wore that to the summer renaissance faire and stayed pretty comfortable!
+Tina06019
If you had been born and raised in Texas (or other such places), you would have been more adapted to the heat. Also, the people would have also stayed in the shade during summer, too.
+ Diane Greene
Haha!
(They probably wished that they could have done so, but there were too many chores to do.)
I love your videos! They are so informative and the clothes are absolutely beautiful. Please keep making more.
All of the dresses were absolutely gorgeous and you ladies looked stunning!! Xx
Jill sighting the regard of the man with the Vespa scooter on the seaside promenade, referring to boldness flashes him her ankle lifting discreetly her skirt!
I've met that queen Victoria and the tall bearded gentleman at the dickens events in Rochester!! Nice people.
That white dress with the blue waist is gorgeous!! How long did it take to make? I made some costumes in the past for the dickens, I loved it!
I often get asked the question, "Are you hot in that?" at various Renaissance Faires, and when I am serious my response is usually in keeping with the "You get used to it." and "Natural fibers breathe." responses that you and various commenters have mentioned. However, when I am in my more usual capricious mode, my response is usuallly, "My Dear, I am hot in ANYTHING I wear."
My new favorite channel! Thanks for your videos
Just found your vids and I love them!Very informative and well done.I loved the one where you explained how Victorian women went to the bathroom.It was so funny!
I love your costumes so much. I feel as though I belong to another era in time altogether. Looking at your beautiful costumes only seems to confirm this for me. I love and treasure many things about our world today, but I think if I had the chance to go back in time to live in other eras, I would do it in a heartbeat!
That is also how men in suits deal with the weather. The suits look the same all year long, but we wear a heavy fabric in the winter and a light one in the summer. Hats also help.
The yachting outfit is a real stunner. I would even buy a new boater hat if she stepped over my stern.
Your clothes always seem to suit you so well. The gowns are lovely.
I have often wondered! Now I know! (And am I crazy for wishing we STILL dressed like this? 😉)
littlenavybrat no your not crazy cause I would love to be able to dress like that. These outfits have an elegance that is desperately lacking in modern fashion
then DO it - wear what YOU love. no reason/no rules say you cant!!! pick a style & adapt it to your lifestyle.. some of the THE BEST era's for the modern workplace are the 1930s-1950s :) and YES you can wear hats & gloves IF YOU want to..
I would love to wear the simple cotton dresses of the 50s. The hour glass gathered skirts that fall to mid calf, with belts, and shirt tops. I could wear that daily through all seasons and some for chores and nice for errands.
Then dress that way. I personally choose to dress in a mediaeval style, again wearing all natural fabrics - cotton shifts and linen dresses - and while temperatures of 30°+ are very rare in Ireland it can still get hot enough to cause heat stroke. But at outdoor events I have noticed that it is those dressed in synthetic fabrics - a lot of newbies to historical events make their first items out of synthetic fabrics, cheap and look similar to linen or wool from a distance - who are either freezing in winter or passing out from the heat in summer. Us long timers in linen and cotton, or wool, don't have a problem. And lightweight wool can be surprisingly cool in summer. There's a good reason that's what many Roman and mediaeval tunics/dresses were made from
I love your videos! So informative! I can murder massive amounts of time watching them.
This is very cool information (hurrhurr) and something I've always wondered about. I'd be curious to see other videos dealing with weather such as rain wear throughout the eras, snow clothes, and cold weather activities and how to dress for them (both inside and out) such as skating and sledding.
Even skin coverage is essential for regulating your body temperature properly, which is why those wearing tight shorts and T-shirts are boiling while those covering their whole bodies with loose, light, natural fabric are merely a bit warm.
Love your videos. Keep them coming
Well, this video proved itself very, very useful. I gave my 1890's summer outfit made for Canada Day (it's a mutton-sleved shirtwaist and walking skirt made of a pretty tacky mix of patriotic prints and a ridiculous Canada flag cincher belt... it's intended for a steampunk festival and some history-nut patriotism more than historical accuracy. :P) a try of a few hours in the sticky hot weather we have going on, and ahhhh, VERY comfy. I couldn't quite stand to add my corset into the ensemble too since it's not made from breathable materials, but having a cincher belt on my waist already made mostly of poly-satin, that was pretty well the only part of me that felt sticky. 100% cotton makes a huge difference! And on a sunny warm and fairly humid day a few days later, I skipped about all over the downtown for a photoshoot with only a little sweating.If anything it was the footwear that made me uncomfortably hot, not the clothes!
i´m so in love with these videos and dresses. I´m from Brazil and I´d love to wear one of those at least one time in my life! Congrats!
Sara Fernandes oi colega 🎈
I absolutely LOVE that yellow bustle dress 😍 (it kind of reminds me of Jane from Tarzan)
I have learnt a lesson on how to keep cool from your video. I will cover up from now on! (and drink a lot of lemonade with ice cubes!) Thanks for the lesson, and the video showing all of those gorgeous gowns!!! ~Janet in Canada P. S. Today it was 30 degrees, and I hid in the house after getting home from work! Ciao!
I did not know that . The dresses look very pretty especially the yellow one . And the white one with all the ruffles looks very Olden Spannish / Mexican Saloon ( those are the dresses that I am a big giant fan off . ) I really thought that they had the big heavy dresses during the summer as well ( stupid me 🤦🏼♀️ ) . I like that you make these videos . So I subscribed 🙋🏼♀️ yay!! Social distance greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱 ( Anne) Miekje 😘
I'm from Italy and I visited the UK many years ago in August. It was cold for me. I love your lemon yellow dress!
Very interesting information even for a Swede like me. I have always wondered about the heat and you gave a good explanation..
I get asked the opposite question in winter - how am I not freezing in just skirt and stockings? The truth is simple - they are either woolen or contain high percentage of wool. Natural fibers is the key of comfortable temperature. Linen is amazing for summer, wool for winter, silk is actually best for both hot and cold weather but not as ethical as linen or wool.
Ethical? Please explain. Not arguing, just want to know.
I once saw a Sears catalogue print from the early 1900s which featured 'summertime' long underwear made of wool. It's hard to imagine wearing wool underwear plus a long dress or suit in the summer. 😧
Wool is an insulating material - ice boxes in the past, and eco-delivery boxes nowadays, are lined with wool to keep the coolness inside.
that "wool" you saw in the ice box was most likely asbestos, not wool. I have restored over 10 iceboxes, none have had wool, just asbestos.
Wool is a self regulating material, keeping you warm in winter, and cool in the summer!
Yeah that was asbestos or fiber glass
Have done Roman re-enactment. Wearing three layers of lightweight wool in the summer temperature of 35°+ outdoors - highly unusual in Ireland and a killer if outdoors at noon - I was actually comfortable. Certainly not hot. But you need to stay covered and that includes the top of your head and the back of your neck, which I did by covering with my palla, rather in the way a sari is draped. The woman wearing a loose dress in a synthetic fabric passed out from the heat. There was, and is, a good reason to wear cotton, linen and wool rather than modern plastic fabrics, and that is they breathe, allowing air to circulate but also to act as an insulating layer keeping your body cool, or warm, depending on the time of year.
Gosh... I must tell you how much I love those costumes!!! I would feel way too excited if I had the chance to wear one of them! Had the chance to feel how they felt in the past. I think you're lucky to have this chance! And I love watching your videos!
thank you - but no luck involved. i ahve been working for 20 years to get where i am, and to make historical dresmaking my job - all the clothing you see are my work outfits ! :-)
Wow!!!! Congratulations!! Your outfits are awesome!!
👏👏👏👏👏👏
I love your videos! Could you keep the picture on a little longer, so i don't have to hit pause so much? ☺
will do in the future!
It might also be a good idea to have the text on a separate "slide" all on its own ... followed by one or even more (because you like to make vertical cuts it could even be a comparison of three separate ages together) images ... for longer. Narrow columns of text are hard to read.
Amy B
Amy B i agree hehe
I agree! I'm so busy reading the script that I miss the beautiful pictures!
This is why I wear Kimono made of Silk much cooler. I also love having a hand fan on me it helps keeps the air moving and cool. I also drink lots of water when in Grab and I reenact a few time periods (pre-1600s, Civil War, work in progress for WWI and WWII)
At American Civil War reenactments that's always the question I get. Well my first event ever I was absolutely miserable in the 90 degree fahrenheit 100% humidity of Gettysburg Pa. But I made some really big mistakes. The first being while my dress was cotton and correct and so were my corset and corded petticoat the tank top and leggings were very much modern and polyester and add to that I was not prepared for the heat I had spent all summer up until that in a freezing archaeology lab in the basement of a museum. Yes that was hot. But once I had all natural fiber underpinnings and a crinoline instead of the corded petticoat it made a world of difference. Ironically though the coldest I've ever been was also in Gettysburg that same year in November for Remembrance Day. Same dress proper underpinnings and a think wool paletot. I was soaked to the bone!
I love those dresses! They are so well made!
I absolutely ADORE the yellow dress at the 1,25 spot!!!
I love the music you use in your videos.
Love this channel
Really Beautiful video! 👌 my friend. thanks for share. Have a pleasant time😀
Gorgeous photos
Something else to consider is that persons wearing skirts or loose fitted garments actually allow for circulation of air around the legs/body. Many women wear dresses & skirts in the US south during the summers just for this reason.
Oooh, I would love to visit those reenactments. I know my mother would too, she's a history teacher and is always telling me random facts :)
The natural fibers argument is likely the most powerful (and least obvious to the everyday folks who are too used to polyester). When making my first historical garment (a simple 18th century everyday/middle class dress), I didn't check the fiber content. Got lucky in that it's like 60 percent cotton, so not too hot, but the other 40 percent of the fabric is polyester. It seems most of my store-bought modern clothes (t shirts etc) are a cotton/poly blend if not all poly. Explains why I get sweaty so fast when it's hot! My next historical outfit will be a late 19th century ensemble inspired by the later works of Laura Ingalls Wilder, with all the pieces (thx for the video on that!) and I WILL check the fiber before buying any fabric! Probably will end up with all cotton, since my fabric store doesn't seem to stock any other natural fiber fabric that isn't blended with some synthetic crud.
This is some great advice for how to deal with the heat here!
Omg I just found your channel today. Please please make more videos :D
learned the hard way at this year's local ren faire that I needed a partlet/fichu and to cover my head! both me and my friend boiled in the direct sun, the burns took weeks to go away. my linen dress was like an air conditioner with every breeze, though!
I have only just stumbled across your posts and, well, what a delight! The clothing is utterly gorgeous and authentic (as far as I can see) & please tell all your models for me that they are just as beautiful as the clothes they wear. Lovely women. Now, a request. You've accomplished corsets,bustles, & hoop skirts. Now, how about (da da daaa) panniers! (Cackles wildly) Having done so myself, I'd like to see you do it right!
see our video on dressing a Georgian lady.... and thank you! :-)
What you said about desert folk covering up is right... light linens and cottons... having a tan then was a sign you were poor/lower class. Also sweat on the underclothes would cool the skin.
Very nice, I enjoyed this, thank you.
Great video, this is in the Uk right? I would think that the fact that the Uk is cloudy more than sunny helped, also. I wish I could see one of your those re-inactments there. I was in the Uk back in 200, I would love to go again, but, it may be hard to get there again. I saw as many castles as I could when I was there. It's so great that there are castles there from the 1300's mostly intact, and some surely older than that, 10 days was not long enough, to see all I wanted to see.
That yellow dress is absolutely beautiful! Of course I’m a bit partial to yellow
I love all the videos of yours that I have seen, the ones that are a couple years old have details on the side that once I read it and glanced over to see the image, the image would go to next image too quickly. Watching on my phone screen just makes it hard. Hopefully you will have some voice narration so that I can just look at the clothing.
Love your stuff though. 😀💜🌾🌷
There is a pause button for that... no voice over planned, text will always be a priority for educational purposes ( easier to check a new word if you k ow the spelling- especially for non native speakers)- hope you can enjoy then nevertheless
Would you mind telling me what the music is here? Great, informative video as ever!
I work as a Historical Interpreter and at our museum we are expected to wear period costume and work our sites. When you are working (in my case on a ship sanding and scraping) the costumes become unbearable. Days that are around 86 degrees are ok but this past week the heat index was at 105 to 114. We were told to go inside to the climate controlled parts of the museum. I still think it's amazing that people could go around in so many layers. I also wonder if the climate of these places and times affected what was in style? In the early 1600s I believe the overall climate was much cooler and I think that's true about the second half of the 1800s as well. Anyway, I get tired of that question too but people are more amazed and curious which I think is better then someone completely uninterested. Amazing work and Thank you for these amazing videos!
Thank you for this informative video!
What is the music used in the background? It's beautiful.
I love natural fibers. They are so much more comfortable. Thanks for the answer to the all to often asked question.
After watching this video I am slowly moving all my wardrobe over to natural fibers including my undergarments!
EXCELENTE SU TRABAJO.
We got the same questions when I was a participant at the Southern California Renaissance Faire.
Absolutely beautiful, absolutely fascinating! I have been curious how women did all of this all of my life (espescially since I am a woman). WOW...how did you learn all these details?? I will share all of your videos with my daughters and any other girl/woman that will listen. Thank you!
I love the women's fashions of the Victorian period. I would like to see modern women dressed like that. I think i was born in the wrong time period.
so wear them and enjoy them. no rules says you cant!! they are comfortable and as you can see in these demos they are NOT hard to put on!!
#vintagedressnotvintagevalues! Go for it!
I live in Northeast Brazil and never dressed historical costumes because of the heat, this video was inspiring
Can anyone tell me details about the attire at 2:51? That looks like something I'd like to wear every day, but I don't know how to find information about it to make it myself. I'd greatly appreciate any help.
Loved that yellow dress💛
What did the poorer people wear?
In addition to what Priorattire said, I think the poorer classes might also have worn less colorful clothing.
By the Victorian era, fabrics for lower incomes were available in almost every colour. However, poorer women might only ever have been able to afford enough fabric for a handful of dresses in their lifetime, so they had incentive to buy fabrics with colours that resist fading and patterns that hide stains. In order to keep their dresses in service for longer, they'd often redye the same fabric over and over again. As a woman got older, her dresses would be redyed in darker shades to cover up old stains and discoloration, so it was pretty uncommon to see older women in pastel colours.
TL;DR: You still would have seen colorful attire on poorer classes, they just had to be more careful about which colors they chose.
How did the worker women dress? These skirts seem awfully dangerous to wear around machinery!
The Victorian era wasn't especially well known for it's worker safety record.
im not sure that would be correct. as a lot of clothing in the poor classes came from discards/handmedowns from the upper crust levels and were repaired/resewn colors would still be as prevalent.. unfortunately photography of the time is no help in the color department. especially when reds look black and blues look white lol.
I've found your channel not too long ago and I just love it! I wonder could you make a video about Victorian swimsuits? The first time I know about Victorian culture was through a Japanese manga/anime based on the Victorian (~1890) era. The author did a lot of research, and I was amazed to know that there were swimsuits too.
Anyways, thank you for your videos
if you have watched the video you would have seen the swimsuits there? i don't plan to make a specific video for them, but as the videos are a part of my book, the information will be there. follow the Victorian Dressmaker on fb to know more!
I do see the swimsuits, that's why I'm curious about it^^but thank you, I will check out the photos
could you tell me where you bought the parasol you took cause they're so beautiful! website links, shops' name or something like that...
either original, from antiques actions or Sherri Light from Farthingale Historical hats
The dresses and outfits are amazing, do you make all your own, how could I get involved this sort of reenactment
25? well that is suoer easy for us in indonesia.
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normal heat in here is 30 c°
that is why national costume ooks very differnet depending on location and climate... :-)
Ohhh ok :)
Rayon actually breathes well and is period appropriate from the 1890s onward! Rayon has an undeserved bad rep. It's not a plastic fibre like polyester, but made using a chemical process that turns wood cellulose into fibres. It was invented in the mid 1800s and patented in 1891. Initially there were reservations about its inflammability (very, until the chemical process was perfected) but it caught on as a cheap, soft silk substitute that held very bright dye colours. :)
Modern viscose forming processes are also far less damaging to the environment than they used to be, and it decomposes with time. The only caveat is that you want to make sure your fabric comes from a country with good worker's rights. The formation process is hazardous and nobody knows the statistics of how many viscose manufacturing factory workers in India and China are harmed by it. Exactly the same goes for cellophane as they're made of the same stuff.
You read my mind! The hate for rayon is undeserved. I've worn it in the heat before, and found it breathed very well! Synthetic fibers, on the other hand, really aren't great for summer.
Your videos are amazing! Love your collection of gowns. Haven't come across anything Regency though. Is there one?
Yes...
priorattire thanks. Found it. You do a lovely job with these. Thank you for sharing
And most summer clothing I've seen of yours are light-colored, which reflects light, keeping you cooler. Darker colors absorb light, which turns to heat, making them ideal for winter.
I'm doing a play set In 1890 and I'm not sure what style I would need to male it look authentic. Any suggestions?